


There's a Future for Me and You

by Riddle_of_the_sphinx



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman: The Animated Series, DC Animated Universe, DCU (Comics), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons)
Genre: Detective Riddler, Dorks in Love, Edward is Oracle, Episode: s03e13 The Once and Future Thing: Time Warped, Falling In Love, M/M, Marriage, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Riddler becoming a good guy, Riddler in the Batfamily, Riddler is reforming, Time Travel, adopting kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 19:32:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9007495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riddle_of_the_sphinx/pseuds/Riddle_of_the_sphinx
Summary: When Batman and the other Justice League members get flung into the future while chasing Chronos Batman learns a rather shocking fact. He and Edward are married in the future, and apparently they have been married for years. When Bruce gets back to his own timeline he has a choice to make. Is a future with Edward one he’s willing to pursue, or will he let the chance at this future pass him by?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Whilst_Mist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whilst_Mist/gifts).



> I will eventually post this story up on my Fanfiction account Jet Set Radio Yoyo so you will be seeing this story there as well.

If you were to tell Bruce that one day, he and a few members of the Justice League would one day chase a criminal through time he would have totally believed you. He had been with the Justice League long enough that he knew that anything was possible. So when he ended up traveling through time chasing after a criminal who dared to try and steal one of his spare belts he couldn't say he was surprised. 

Still, what a way to spend a Tuesday afternoon. 

For the most part finding and catching the criminal named David Clinton had gone well. Being in the old west had been odd to say the least, but compared to past experiences it didn’t even make it to his top ten list of strange situations. They found the man and got his time traveling belt back rather easily. However, right when Bruce was about to use it to send them back home David snatched the belt and used it to run off to another time period. Bruce, John, and Diana gave chase only to end up getting attacked by a group of modified villains. A couple of heroes came to help them and before Bruce knew it he was being carried through the sky by an alternate Batman who was following the orders of an old Static Shock who was way older then Bruce. Now all Bruce could do was think while he was being carried off to what these future heroes said was their base. 

_You shouldn’t have let him get close to the belt._

That’s all Bruce could really think as he took in the sight of the city around him. It was pretty clear to him that David Clinton had run away into the future. The city around them and the heroes with them made that abundantly clear. The cars that the people were driving down below were so high-tech that they put the Batmobile to shame. Occasionally they would pass by a billboard that would advertise some sort of business that was operating in Gotham, but if it wasn’t for the signs Bruce honestly wouldn’t have been able to recognize the city as his home. 

Gotham had always been known for its Gothic architecture. Most of the city’s landmarks and important buildings had been designed by an architect named Cyrus Pinkney back in the mid-1800’s. His landmarks and buildings were considered to be architectural masterpieces that gave Gotham it’s very identity, so thanks to him most buildings that were built in Gotham were built in the same style. However, right now Bruce couldn’t see any of Pinkney’s architectural design anywhere. To him the city looked like a high tech city that came right out of a sci-fi movie like Blade Runner. 

Although, some of the view was ruined by the fact that he could see national landmarks like the Sphinx of Giza and the Leaning Tower of Pisa doting the landscape. Ancient buildings just looked odd when placed next to skyscrapers that looked like they came from The Fifth Element movie. Of course David was probably the reason why these things were even in Gotham. If the guy was willing to go back in time to steal his belt then he could buy the guy jumping back in time to steal Stonehenge just because he could.

As for the heroes he was traveling with they were something else all together. Back in his time Static Shock was a teenager still in high school. However, here Static was all grown up and seemed to be somewhere in his mid-sixties give or take a couple of years. Having known the kid in his teen years it was incredibly odd to think that right now he was older then Bruce. 

Bruce moved his gaze away from Static and over toward the man that was flying beside him on his left. He was dressed in armor that even covered his large birdlike wings. He had no idea what the winged man’s name was, but he did know that the man was John’s child. The murmured call of the word dad toward John was enough to let everyone know that fact. Batman had long taken note of the fact that every other minute John would glance over at his supposed son. The man would always give the boy a look that could only be described as mystified confusion. When John wasn’t looking at the kid the kid was looking at John with a mystified look that was pretty similar to his father’s look. 

The last member of the superhero group of the future was the man currently carrying him. He couldn’t help but look up at the man upon thinking about him. The large bright red bat symbol that was on his chest was the first thing that met his gaze. That symbol was all that he needed to see to know that this was the Batman of the future. He had a few other traits that gave him away like the pointed bat ears, but the similarities ended there. 

This future Batman’s suit was on a whole entire other level then Bruce’s own. The suit was more like formfitting armor, and the suit allowed him to fly. While it was a bit comforting to know that Gotham still had a Batman, but he couldn’t help but wonder who was under the mask. He didn’t ask who he was. Chances are the future Batman wouldn’t give him an answer, and truthfully he was probably better off not knowing. Knowing too much about the future could cause him to alter it too much. The thought about the future Batman was dropped when they arrived at what seemed to be an abandoned high school. The place was in a pretty good condition, but the boarded up windows and broken down school sign showed that the place had been abandoned for a while. 

As Bruce’s feet touched the ground he heard John say “Your base is an abandoned high school?”

“You make do with what you got.” The Future Batman said as he let go of Bruce’s wrists and started to walk toward the door. 

He opened the door and held it open so that the others could enter.

As they stepped inside Static said “Stay close to us. It’s not safe to go wondering around here.” 

“Why is it not safe?” Diana asked as she looked around the lobby of the old school. 

For all intents and purposes the school looked normal. Old faded posters for a Halloween event hung on the walls while the trophy case nearby displayed dusty trophies for school victories that were now long forgotten. Graffiti covered the lockers that were in view, and it was your typical graffiti stuff. Various names left behind by people who wanted to leave their mark on the place along with a few spray painted pictures that were done hastily. Some of the graffiti were actual works of art that people actually put some effort into. Bruce was rather fond of the graffiti depicting a robin standing on a branch that had been spray painted onto the door that lead into the main office. 

“It’s not dangerous for us, but for strangers like you it can be. We had some defenses put up to keep our foes out.” Static explained as he started to walk down the hall. “The defenses that we have in place will be fine with you as long as you stick with one of us.”

No one said anything after hearing that, and everyone just silently followed Static as he led the way. The walk through the hall was uncomfortably silent. The only sound that could be heard were the sound of their own footfalls. Bruce wasn’t a chatty guy especially when he was in the Batman outfit, but he had to admit that some sort of conversation would have been appreciated. Especially since his own team was a little tense after hearing about the whole defenses thing. Diana had taken up a bit of a battle ready stance since they began to walk down the long hallway, and John kept scanning the hallway as if in an attempt to spot some sort of trap. Bruce even felt a bit tense.

Every once in a while he could swear he would see what looked like glowing green eyes peering out at them from the other end of the hallways that they passed, but whenever Bruce would try to get a good look at it whatever it was that was at the end of the hall was gone. He could also swear that sometimes he would hear what sounded like someone walking in the distance, and Diana must have herd it too because she would always freeze up and look around like she was trying to find an attacker whenever the distant footfalls could be heard. 

Eventually after walking for a good five minutes they stopped when they reached a thick metal door. The door was a solid green color, and the door lacked doorknobs. The only things on it were what looked like a card scanner and a larger scanner that was just big enough to scan a hand. Hanging above the door were three large monitors. When Static stopped in front of the door the intercom system that was set up in the school crackled to life.

**_“You shouldn’t be here.”_ **

John and Diana flinched a little upon hearing the voice, and Bruce couldn’t blame them. The voice over the intercom was a bit louder then it needed to be, but more importantly it didn’t sound anywhere close to being normal. While the voice was distinctly male it had an electronic stuttering to it that made it sound like a computer that was breaking down. It stuttered when saying the word shouldn’t and it repeated the words ‘be here’ about five times. It was surprising to hear, and if you weren’t ready for it you would flinch a bit in surprise.

Yet, for all its electronic stuttering Bruce realized something. He recognized the voice. He couldn’t quite place his finger on who’s voice it was but he knew he had heard the voice before. The monitors suddenly turned on and bathed the area in a sickly green light. The image on the screens was a silhouette of what seemed to be a man. The only thing that could be identified were the glasses that the man was wearing. None of the future heroes seemed bothered by the voice or the image of the man that was now staring down at them. 

“It’s just us Oracle.” Static said with a slight smile. 

“I can see that now.” The now named Oracle said. 

Oracle was silent for a moment before he said “I can’t believe that the tip you got about the past members of the Justice League coming here was real.” 

“Well, believe it. These blasts from the past are the real deal.” Static said as his smile turned into a grin. 

Oracle said nothing to this, and the only reaction that Static got was the doors sliding open.

“Hurry up inside. Robin has been bouncing off the walls ever since you left, and seeing that you are all fine should calm her down.” Oracle said.

The monitors then turned off and the group was left standing in the silent hall.

“Well, you heard the man.” The Future Batman said as he stepped into the room.

Everyone just followed him, and the second everyone was in the room the doors slammed shut behind them. Bruce took a couple of steps forward and looked around at their new surroundings. The room was large, but it wasn’t too big. If Bruce had to guess he would assume that the room used to be where the school bands practiced. A large computer that was in the room looked a bit like the computer back in his own Batcave. It was a bit smaller, but the general looks and build was the same as his own computer. Someone was sitting in the large office chair that was standing in front of the computer, but Bruce couldn’t see who it was. If Bruce had to guess he would assume that it was Oracle in the chair. 

Honestly, he wasn’t paying too much attention to who was in the chair. He was a bit too busy staring at the robot that was standing next to the chair. The robot looked like it had been cobbled together with whatever its creator could find in a junkyard. Heck, it’s face was just a hockey mask with two small green lights for eyes. However, while it’s looks would lead one to believe it would move in slow clunky movements it was quickly apparent that the robot was more graceful then it looked. It tilted its head slightly to the side in curiosity like a child that was examining a new toy. It swayed side to side so smoothly that it might as well have been a person moving to the rhythm of a song that only they could hear.

The robot let out a chirping sound that was rather birdlike in quality. That sound caused the person in the office chair to swing the seat around so that they could get a good look at the heroes. Bruce was a bit surprised to see to see that it wasn’t a man sitting there in the chair. Instead it was a teenage girl sitting there. She looked young. She had to either be finishing up middle school or just entering high school. She was dressed in a Robin outfit that looked similar to the one that Dick wore. However, instead of a mask she was wearing green glasses that made it impossible to tell what her eye color was. Her bright orange hair stuck out like a sore thumb, but it wasn’t nearly as blinding as her smile. 

“Your back!” She chirped out as she jumped to her feet.

“Miss us?” The Future Batman asked as he stated to walk toward her. 

“Hardly, it’s just boring around here when you guys are gone.” The girl said. “I could have gone with you guys. I can fight.” 

The Future Batman jut reached out and ruffled the girl’s hair as he said “Your still in training, kid. When your dads say you can go out without the robot bodyguard then you can join the team on the big missions.” 

The girl shoved the Future Batman’s hand away, but the smile on her face showed that she wasn’t actually annoyed.

“I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but I have to ask is this really the Justice League headquarters now?” John said. 

Upon hearing that question the Future heroes all looked subdued. 

“It is right now." Static Shock said.

“You traveled about fifty years into your future.” The Future Batman said. 

John just looked over at Static Shock as he said “Last time I saw you Static you were too young to drive. You look good for your age.” 

Static smiled a small smile as he said “The miracles of modern medicine. Sixty-five is the new thirty.” 

Bruce decided not to comment on that as he jumped into the conversation and asked “And the Watchtower?”

If all of the heroes were hiding out here Bruce figured that meant that the Watchtower was either gone, or under someone else’s control. Both scenarios were rather unpleasant, but Bruce wanted to know what happened to the Justice League’s original base.

“It’s gone.” Future Batman said as he looked down. “We lost a lot of good people that day.”

“You mean Superman? J'onn? All the others?” Diana asked slowly. 

From the look on her face Bruce knew she already knew the answer to that question. They were all dead. Still, she had to ask. It was best never to assume anything after all.

John’s son just looked at her before he moved his gaze over to his father and said “Yeah, and you two are gone as well.”

Bruce frowned a bit at that. You two? It sounded and looked like he meant Diana and John. So what happened to him in this future? Was he dead? Alive? 

The question of his fate here rolled around in his head as he asked “And the Batcave?” 

“This is all we have left now. Get used to it.” A voice called out to them. 

Everyone turned toward the voice and Bruce could do nothing but stare as an old man walked out from the shadows. The old white haired man stared at them with hard blue eyes and a firm frown. However, even with old age his voice was a carbon copy of Bruce’s own voice. Bruce didn’t need anyone to tell him that he was looking at the future version of himself. The man still looked rather handsome in his age, and he still seemed strong enough to handle himself in a fight. Still, there were signs of hard life weighing him down. He had a slouch in his stance and the way he walked seemed to suggest that the cane he had was actually needed and not just for show. The slight limp in his walk seemed to imply that he had an injury that he never completely recovered from, and Bruce could see the signs of scars covering the parts of his skin that were not covered up by clothing. 

Yet, for everything that this man had the thing that really caught Bruce’s attention was the golden ring that the man had on his ring finger. It was a simple gold ring devoid of any jewels or symbols, but even so Bruce knew immediately what it was. It was a wedding ring. The Future Bruce caught him staring at it, and his grim frown briefly turned into an almost amused looking smile. It was like Future Bruce was thinking of an inside joke that only he understood. Bruce had no doubt that the man knew he was shocked to see the ring.

The question of who he could be married to in the future rattled around in his brain as he took a few steps toward his future self. Was he married to Talia? Selina? A small feeling of sadness hit Bruce a little upon the thought of Selina. The last time he had seen her she had returned to a life of crime and left Gotham. She would return to Gotham eventually, but his relationship with Selina would be strained regardless of if he was wearing the mask or not. As for Talia the last time Bruce saw her she left him in the middle of the desert as she escaped with her father. Bruce liked Talia, but it had long become apparent to him that at the end of the day Talia will always chose her father and as long as she helped her father in trying to kill off half the human population their relationship would go nowhere. 

Bruce was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the Future Bruce ask “Surprised to see me?”

“Surprised I lived so long.” Bruce said without missing a beat.

What he said could be taken as a joke, but he was being honest when he said that. His rogues gallery was usually almost always gunning to kill him, so the fact that he survived all of those attacks long enough to apparently retire from the superhero scene was surprising to say the least. At the very least Bruce could get some joy out of knowing that none of his villains would succeed in taking him down. 

“Are you Oracle?” John asked. 

While that was a good question, Bruce already knew that the answer to that question was no. While the electronic buzz of Oracle's voice made it hard to tell what the original voice really sounded like Bruce was able to pick up just enough to tell that Future Bruce didn't have the right tone. The fact that Future Bruce just looked amused at the thought of him being Oracle told everyone in the room that the answer to that question was no. The face he was making right now made it seem like the idea of him being Oracle was the best joke that he had heard in ages.

“No, Oracle is my better half.” The man said in a tone that made it hard to tell if he was joking or not.

Bruce could hear Future Batman let out a snort of amusement upon hearing that. Future Robin also looked highly amused by what she heard, and even Static was smiling in amusement. John's son smiled briefly in amusement, but the smile faded away as fast as it had appeared. Diana looked like she was about to ask who his better half was a voice called out to them.

“He’s talking about me.”

Bruce quickly turned to see a man standing a few feet away. The man was leaning against a door that seemed to lead into a teacher’s office. The man had red hair, but it was starting to turn silver with age. Bright jade green eyes stared right into Bruce’s blue eyes, and the man had an amused almost playful looking smile on his face. The man was dressed in a simple white button down shirt, black dress pants, glasses, and a green sweater vest. He had on a purple tie, and clipped onto his tie was a simple golden question mark shaped tie clip. That single question mark was all Bruce needed to see to know who the man was.

“Riddler!” Bruce said a bit louder then he intended.

“Haven’t been called that for a long time now.” Edward said as he started to walk toward them.

When he reached Future Bruce he reached out and placed his hand on Future Bruce’s shoulder. Future Bruce reached up with his free hand and placed it over Edward’s hand. They shared a brief affectionate smiles before they returned their attention back to the heroes that were gathered around them. Bruce got a good long look at the gold ring that Edward had on his ring ringer. 

Seeing that ring made everything click into place. He was married to Edward Nigma. He was married to the Riddler. Bruce wasn’t sure how to react to that. Disbelief was the strongest feeling that he had going on. Never in a million years did he imagine that he would be married to the Riddler of all people. Bruce had no problems with being married to a man. Bruce had a few flings with men in the past, and he was willing to date a guy if the attraction was there. Gotham knew he swung both ways as it were, and anyone who bothered to do some research on Bruce would find a few pages in past gossip magazines about his flings with pretty male models and handsome actors. 

However, even so Bruce had never entertained the idea of dating the Riddler much less marrying the guy. The Riddler was a nice looking man who did fit Bruce’s taste in guys. Bruce always did have a bit of a weakness for green eyes. However, Bruce never really got to just sit down and talk to Edward. With Selina she turned on the charm immediately, and with her he always felt a bit at ease. She never killed and she was willing to help just as much as she was willing to hinder. 

Similarly, with Talia Bruce had gotten the chance to work with her and talk to her. He hadn’t ever gotten that chance with Edward. Usually, either Bruce was in the way of Edward reaching his goal, or Edward wanted to challenge him to a deadly mental duel. While Bruce could admire Edward’s intelligence and his technologic knowhow that was all Bruce could really do. He never got to work with Edward nor did he get to sit down and have a discussion with the man. 

John and Diana seemed to be as shocked by this Riddler news as Bruce was because they immediately looked over at Bruce and said at the exact same time “You married the Riddler?” 

“Why are you asking me? I’m just as suppressed as you are.” Bruce grumbled out. Bruce looked over at the couple only to see that both men just seemed amused by his and his friends shock. Bruce found their amusement to be a bit annoying. “How?” Was the only question that Bruce could bring himself to ask.

“Come now do you really want me to ruin the surprise?” Edward asked. “What fun is romance if you know how you eventually get to the wedding chapel?” 

Bruce frowned upon hearing that. That was definitely something that Edward would say. He didn’t like the answer, but he didn’t bother trying to force an answer out of them. It was obvious that Edward and Future Bruce wouldn’t tell him. It was beyond frustrating. Normally, Bruce would be against knowing how the future will be. He always felt that it was best not to know too much about your future.

However, right now he wanted to know. He really wanted to know. Edward started to moved away from Future Bruce, and Future Bruce didn’t say a word as he allowed Edward’s hand to slip from his grasp. Edward brushed past Bruce without saying a word and moved toward the computer. Future Robin slipped out of the seat and allowed Edward to take her place. Once he was seated Edward clasped his hands together and allowed a serious look to take its place on his face.

“As shocking as this might be to hear I reformed a long time ago and I joined the hero community a while after I reformed. I became Oracle, and I have been Oracle longer then I have ever been the Riddler.” Edward said he stared right into Bruce's eyes.

Bruce got a feeling that was directed more toward him then anyone else.

Static smiled a bit as he said “Yeah, Oracle here is the best information broker that the heroes have. He’s also the one who handles all of our hacking needs.” Edward smiled a bit upon hearing the praise.

“You make the robot bodyguard too?” John asked as he motioned to the robot that was still standing next to the computer.

“Yes, it’s my creation.” Edward said. 

“I would be fine out there on my own without the bodyguard.” Future Robin muttered. 

“Not until your done with your training you aren’t.” Edward and Future Bruce said at the exact same time. 

Future Robin just huffed a little in annoyance as she crossed her arms as she looked away. 

“You become a bit of an overprotective parent in the future.” Static told Bruce with a smile. 

Bruce just glanced over at Static Shock unsure of what to say to that. Was he joking, or was he serious? Did he adopt this girl? Better yet did he adopt this girl with Edward? He remembered hearing Future Batman mention her dads, so that seemed to cement the idea that she had been adopted but Bruce didn't want to just assume that in case Future Batman was just joking when he called Future Bruce and Edward dads. 

Bruce watched as Future Bruce approached the girl and quietly said something to her. She sighed, but a slight smile did appear on her face. Edward was just watching them with a slight smile on his face. They seemed close, and that made Bruce think that maybe he and Edward adopting this girl together could at least be plausible. Strangely, Bruce wasn’t bothered by the idea of that possibly being true. He wasn’t opposed to the idea of adopting a kid at least. He had officially adopted Dick not too long ago so that he could be his son and not just his ward. So Bruce wasn’t against the idea of adopting more kids. 

Bruce was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Diana ask “Are there other robots in the building?” 

Edward nodded and said "There are. Did you hear footsteps and glowing lights from the corner of your eye?”

Diana nodded and Edward said “Then you saw our defense system. My bots might not seem like it, but they are surprisingly agile and good at staying just out of sight.” 

“As interesting as this all is we aren’t here to listen to you gush over your robots.” Bruce said. 

“No, you here to figure out how to take down David Clinton.” Edward said. 

“Although, now days the guy likes to call himself Chronos.” Future Robin chimed in.

“The personification of time.” Bruce murmured. “Fitting name.”

“I’m not the only person getting their name from classic antiquity it seems.” Edward said as he started to smirk. 

Future Bruce immediately jumped into the conversation by saying “Getting back on topic Chronos is polluting the timeline. He’s polluting it so much that history itself is becoming fluid.” 

“If this continues for much longer any number of bad things could happen to us, and it will get to the point that the timeline will be so damaged that there will be no fixing it.” Edward added his smirk now long gone as he got back to the serious topic at hand. “The only way to stop all this is by stopping Chronos, and if we stop him we can get the belt that he is using to travel through time.” 

“And if we have the belt we can get back to our own timeline.” Bruce finished.

“You got it.” Edward said. “So what do you say? You up for the job.” 

Diana ended up being the one who answered for them all by saying “Let’s start comparing notes.” 

The conversation turned to Chronos as the Future heroes and the ones from the past started sharing what they knew about the man and his time traveling invention. Bruce threw himself into the conversation without a second thought. The question of how he ended up marrying Edward in the future was still swirling around in his mind, and when Bruce had some time to himself he would probably obsess over the question. However, for now he wouldn’t focus on it. For now he would focus on trying to get home, and he would confront the idea of him marrying a super villain later…..


End file.
